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by Yagami Byakuya
Summary: One-Shot: Now that he could leave Limitless Fortress, Makubex is unsure of where he belonged. More of a friendship/siblings relationship between Makubex and Sakura.


AN: I quite like this story myself. Hope you'll like it as well :D

Disclaimer: The GetBackers series and characters do not belong to me. Enough said, really.

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If someone had told Makubex that he would be this depressed after his success in breaking the Lower Town away from Brain Trust's control, he would have sponsored a full mental check-up for that particular person. There's no way he would believe that. He always thought he would be incredibly delighted if he could achieve his lifelong mission.

Until now.

He only had himself to blame for allowing Sakura and Ginji to talk him into renting a small apartment nearby the town. He himself had thought that it was what he wanted and the others all forked in some cash they saved from their respective jobs to help him pay for the rent. All with the exception of the selfish, slimy sea-urchin Midou Ban, that is. There's nothing anyone can do to get him to part with his money, not that he actually have much to part with anyway. The only thing Ban was willing to give was a piece of advice.

"Quit being a computer geek and go get a girlfriend already."

"Yeah, Makubex, now that you're free, you have to enjoy! There's a game arcade nearby, I'll bring you there someday!" And this earned Ginji a punch on his head, with Ban shouting in the background. "As if I'll let you go there again after you spent all our money there last time!"

Shido told him to "socialise but be independent at the same time", to which Ban replied mockingly with "So says the lone wolf who had to depend on a girl for everything!" And thus a fight ensued.

Kazuki, being the informant, warned him of the people in the town whom he wouldn't want to cross and offered to tour him and the Kakei siblings around. Before Makubex knew it, he was in a fast-food restaurant nearby a noisy, busy highway.

"Makubex, are you okay?" Sakura asked as Kazuki and Juubei went to get more drinks. She had noticed that Makubex was zoning out during most part of the conversation. He might be uncomfortable about all these, she supposed. She could understand how he felt, he had never stepped out of Limitless Fortress before and she rarely left Limitless Fortress after she went there. Now they're in the real world, the world where the reality of their existence would not be questioned. They have their own will and are free from the so-called 'God of Babylon'. It was almost too good to be true.

It was quite ironic in the way that before the freedom of the Lower Town, they were questioning the reality of their own existence and now, after they were freed from Brain Trust's grasp, they had to wonder if everything was real, that it was not just a dream that they would soon wake up from and realise that they were still trapped in the Lower Town, unable to leave.

It must be unnerving, even for the confident young genius.

"I'm fine, Sakura." Makubex wouldn't want her to worry about him, not anymore. Now that they could finally leave Limitless Fortress, she could go and live in peace with her brother, not having to worry anymore about constant fighting and their safety. She had never said it out loud, but he knew that this was her utmost desire.

She deserved a peaceful life.

"But…" Sakura wasn't convinced. They had spent such a long time in each other's company that they were as close as real siblings. She knew that there was something wrong, but she also knew that Makubex was as stubborn as a rock. There would be no use to force him to tell her about it unless he wanted to.

"I'll be going now. Sakura, thank Kazuki for me, will you?" He quickly got up from his seat and before Sakura could protest, he made his way towards his apartment.

His new, uncomfortable apartment.

It wasn't as if the apartment itself was bad. Hevn had helped to look for the apartment, manipulating her wide web of contacts. The fact that she had actually volunteered to do so for the boy genius for free and without any charges at all threw Ban into a raging fit. To be honest, Makubex was surprised as well. He'd never thought that the negotiator would actually do something free of charge. Guess there's always a first time for everything. And the place she offered wasn't a random, filthy and unwanted room. It was a posh-looking, evenly-spaced, three-bedrooms apartment at a monthly rent so low that they had to make sure that they were not hallucinating. Apparently they were not. The rent was low because Hevn had actually called in a personal favour from one of her acquaintances owned the apartment.

But the apartment was just too different. Too different from his spacious lair in Limitless Fortress in which he spent more than half of his life. The room was too neat and claustrophobic and it was difficult for him to decide whether he like it or hate it. Possibly neither love nor hate, he supposed.

Then the town itself was different from the Lower Town of Limitless Fortress. It was much more civilised and safer, and yet dangers still lurked about. Kazuki had warned him of the possibility of getting mugged and robbed or burglary, not unlike the Lower Town during its dark ages. And the people in the town. Makubex won't admit it, but he was nervous when he walked on the streets alone. People came and went in floods everywhere, every minute and he knew no one in this busy, noisy town.

It was nerve-wrecking.

He had always wanted to move out of the Lower Town, to experience a real life as a normal teenager. He knew that he still wanted this, but it was just too hard to cope with. It was simply too difficult to leave everything he had knew so well behind and live a new life.

Maybe he had made the decision too rashly. Or maybe he had made the wrong decision. Maybe. He couldn't even be sure anymore. Things were just too complicated now.

He had thought of going to Ginji and the others for advices, but decided not to burden them with more problems. The last time he saw Ginji was when they were both in Honky Tonky, and at that moment Ginji was struggling to keep Ban away from attacking Paul for not allowing the GetBackers to have any more drinks from his shop until they cleared their enormous tab.

It was after two long weeks of struggling that he finally decided to pay Sakura a visit.

He didn't know what drove him to her door that day and why he went to her instead of Ginji. Maybe it's just that she's the only person he felt really comfortable to talk with, she was like an elder sister he never had. He felt like running away as he knocked on the door, but it was too late to do so. Sakura opened the door with lighting speed. It was almost as if she had been expecting him.

"Hello, Makubex. Come on in." Before he could say anything, Sakura ushered him to the living room. "Would you like a drink?"

"No, I'm okay. Thanks anyway, Sakura."

"So, how are you? I haven't seen much of you nowadays."

At this Makubex winced inwardly, wondering if he should just be honest and tell the truth or gloss over the facts. He really couldn't decide, on one hand he wanted to share his feelings with someone, but on the other hand, it was hard for him to tell her about it. For one, he did not want to worry, and second, he didn't want to admit that he couldn't adapt to it. He felt ashamed, seeing how everyone coped so well with leaving Limitless Fortress.

He was the only one who had problems with it.

Noticing his inner struggle, Sakura sat next to him and hold his hands encouragingly. "You know you can always tell me if there's something wrong."

"Sakura… are you happy here?"

There was a slightly uncomfortable pause before Sakura answered. "Yes, I guess I am. It took me some time, but now I'm starting to get use to it and I'm feeling much better than how I had felt last week."

"Really?" Makubex was surprised, up until then he had thought that no one else had problems adapting.

"Yes. But luckily Juubei is here as well, so we could keep each other company and help to adapt." Sakura tightened her grip on Makubex's hands. "It must be difficult for you."

"It… it is." Now that he knew that Sakura had faced the same issue, he felt much more comfortable talking to her about it. "I knew I wanted this, but sometimes it just felt as if I made the wrong choice. I want to be here, but I missed Limitless Fortress as well. It's just… so complicated."

"Makubex, listen to me. It's normal for you to miss Limitless Fortress, after all those years you lived in the Lower Town. You might not feel comfortable being here now, but maybe someday, when you are finally adapted to this new lifestyle, you'll be able to call it your home from the bottom of your heart. But for now, remember, Limitless Fortress is always there for you. Just because you've got a new life doesn't mean that you must let go of the past."

She gave him a cheerful smile so bright and radiant that he believed it to be contagious, and he returned her smile with a hopeful grin.

"And don't you forget that we'll always be here for you. Myself, Juubei, Kazuki, Emishi. Everyone. We're always behind you, no matter what you do. We are your family, and isn't that the most important part of a home? And Makubex, you do know that you are always welcome here if you wanted company, don't you?"

"Sakura… thank you." Makubex was really grateful and happy that he had talked to Sakura. It felt good to know that he wasn't the only one having coping issues. And now that he had talked and thought about it, he could see it in a different and a more positive light. Perhaps this was his first step towards being a normal teenager, after all, what's teenage life without worries and anxieties?

"Do you have any plans for today, Makubex?" Sakura asked. She would guess that he would have nothing to do, and going out for fresh air was always a good thing to do. "Would you like to go shopping with me?"

"Shopping?"

"Yes, and we might see some of the others on the way. Juubei said that he would be going out with Kazuki and Toshiki, apparently they went to somewhere nearby Limitless Fortress. And isn't Emishi working somewhere in town?"

And so Makubex went shopping with Sakura and as he met all his friends and acquaintances in town, he realised that maybe Sakura had been right. Perhaps someday he would be able to fully accept this new place as his second home and make new friends while keeping his old friends, but for now, he would always be glad that his friends were always around to support him and that the Lower Town was still there for him to call home.

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AN: I think I can understand what Makubex is feeling in this fic, at least to a certain extent. Poor Makubex~~~ So confused. Anyway, thanks for reading and do tell me what you think :D


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